How do these carpcs compare to the ones mp3car.com sells?

i personally LOVE iguadance v3. v4 is sluggish.

ours are cheaper and come complete and ready to use out of box :)

excellent... so they already have an os system? how much would monitors run? Also how much to upgrade to gps from the basic system?

upgrades/options
gps pricing is not finalized as of this moment.
bluetooth is $25, wifi is $25. add $5 to each of these options if you buy them after you bought your computer (well, if you buy it within 7 business days - its $25).

software:
yes, every system comes with windows installed (legit of course!) and depending on customer request either with ict (free) or streetdeck ($199).
there is possibility we will be releasing custom frontend with integrated gps based on linux so you can pretty much save yourself $100-120 on that AND make your computer considerably faster. official development is in planning stage so dont take my word for it.
now, if you decide to get bare system without windows and frontend software - you can knock off $90 from price.

navigation:
gps shouldnt be too expensive. i think its going to be in $50-$70 range but it all depends on final price we agree on with manufacturer. as of gps software, streetdeck comes with one, then there are several options - iguidance is $109 but we can only get v4 which is a bit slower then v3 or there is always map monkey and other open source gps software.

monitors:
we prefer to use lilliput but we also have sources for cheaper chinese monitors. i personally have 7" touch screen monitor from china running at 800x600 resolution. that thing works great and never gave me any problems (have it for about 7 months now.)

so, just to summarize, right now we do not offer gps but nobody is stopping you from getting something outside our company. in fact, if you decide to go with some other company we will gladly help you find the right product. we are not here to rip anybody off and we seriously hate people who do that! if, in fact, you find something cheaper, you can always give us a call (or ask me personally) and we will assist you in finding the right solution for YOU. most companies will sell you crap you will never use - this is bad. i dont like that kind of stuff (yes, i was ripped off myself several times in past and i know how it feels to loose considerable amount of money or half a month worth of work)

I have a carpc in my 2002 for almost 2 years now. Summers here in Greece are 100+F and winters are mild, so there's heat. Never had a problem. Also, the roads here are very rough and still, the HDD (mind you, a 4200RPM laptop HDD) never complained, even as I track the car.

Jim

we use 5200rpm laptop drives on low-level systems and 7200rpm for high-end.
also, there is a recommended $55 upgrade - all the software installed on 1gb cf card. that reduces chances of computer stalling from hd being tossed around (happened when i drifted on my very first prototype) and decreases boot times

Urban is there a way to use a laptop so i dont have to wait for boot? IE its in standby running off battery till i want it

Yes you can do that with power supply units made from Carnetix. If the battery voltage drops too low, (ie under 10V), the PSU will shutdown the PC (via ACPI if available) and then kill the power.

Jim

i think you miss understood me

we already have that implemented. except we use stereo remote input to trigger psu's startup/shutdown controller.

loki, i wouldnt. with solid 1gb hd (cf card) computer boots within 10-15sec

so run the os off the card but storage off the hd? Good idea

must have been fun trimming windows down to fit inside of 1GB.

As we discussed yesterday, this is what I want:
Navigation, GPS based with guidance
Ability to play music: CD, AM/FM, MP3; lowlevel outputs
Interface with MS ECU, to include showing gauges and datalogging
Ability to handle all 3 of above functions simultaniously
A way to transfer files between the car pc and a home pc, WiFi is probably best
And obviously I need to be able to see the screen with the top down.

I want the same as ben, plus Bluetooh capatability with my fone. Ie microphone and such (i think its just street deck then, or linux, plus that 8 gig SD cards now)

I thought about the bluetooth, but speakerphone won't work for shit with the top down. BT is a crappy technology anyway.

It is, but what about hooking up the computer to the internet :) BT driving

Oh, good call. Also, you can use your BT phone as the GPS antenna for navigation.

Yeah I need blue tooth too.

i dont have GPS on my phone :( I thought you had a treo?

Yeah Sprint Treo650

I dont understand how to use that as a GPS antenna